Oh My Darling, Clementine

The holidays are over and my decorations are put away. Sigh. All I'm left with is a plethora of clementines. Clementines are a variety of mandarin orange, specifically a hybrid of the Mediterranean Citrus xdeliciosa and a sweet orange. They are typically seedless, easy to peel, and in season from mid-November to late-January. French born Brother Clement Rodier is credited with creating the variety by cross-pollination in the garden of an Algerian orphanage in 1902. In Latin, the name Clementine (the female form of Clement) means clemency or merciful. It is also the name of the lost love in the American folk song "Oh My Darling, Clementine," the daughter of a miner in the 1849 California Gold Rush. The song credits her tragic demise to a splinter in her toe that causes her to fall and drown. At the end of the song, Clementine's lover quickly forgets her after kissing her little sister. Poor Clementine.

In desperation to use up my ample supply of clementines, I found this exciting recipe for "Winter Salad with Clementine Dressing and Vanilla Bean Candied Walnuts" from rachelcooks.com. While Rachel raves about the vanilla bean candied walnuts, I was not immediately excited about the results on their own. That is, however, until I added them to the salad! Fantastic! My family and I love this salad so much that I have been making it over and over to the point that I had to run out and buy more clementines! In addition, the vanilla bean candied walnuts makes enough for three salads, making them well worth the effort. This bright, citrusy recipe is just what you need to get over the post-holiday doldrums. Thanks Rachel!

Winter Salad with Clementine Dressing and Vanilla Bean Candied Walnuts

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the Dressing

1/4 cup clementine juice (about 2 clementines)

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the Salad

1 head of red leaf lettuce, torn into bite sized pieces (I have been using 1 head of Romaine with great results)

1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley (I have been using 1/4 cup)

1/2 cup dried cranberries (I have been using 1/4 cup)

3 clementines, peeled, segments separated and cut in half (I have been using 2 clementines)

1/2 cup vanilla bean candied walnuts (recipe follows)

Dressing to taste (there may be extra)

Directions:

For the Dressing

Mix all ingredients together in a jar (shake shake shake!) or a small bowl (whisk whisk whisk!)

For the Salad

Add all ingredients to a large bowl. Add dressing and toss immediately before serving.

Vanilla Bean Candied Walnuts

Makes 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups raw walnut halves and/or pieces

The seeds scraped from one whole vanilla bean

Directions:

Toast walnuts in a dry frying an over medium heat stirring frequently, about 3-5 minutes or until fragrant. Pour onto plate to cool. Also prepare a large rimmed baking sheet with a Silpat mat or parchment paper.

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and vanilla bean seeds. Cook on medium until sugar melts and starts to turn the color of amber. (Once the sugar starts to melt, I began stirring with a metal tea spoon to help prevent burning.) 

The sugar/vanilla bean mixture is done when it looks like this!

Remove from heat, add walnuts and stir to coat. Work quickly.

Pour the walnuts out onto prepared lined baking sheet and separate walnuts with two forks, working quickly. If you don't get them all separated, it's no biggie, you can cut or crack them apart once they cool.

Cool completely before storing in an airtight container. If you don't eat them all first.

*Note: If you've never dealt with melting sugar, soaking the pot and any used utensils makes cleanup a breeze!